Leica got beat up badly by Nikon in the '60, when all the photojournalists went SLR ... but ... I don't really see that happening again. Leica and Fuji share a somewhat similar marketplace based on the physical aspects of camera design, but much different buyer I think. I think most Leica buyers will only buy Leica (period). I think most Fuji buyers would buy Leica, if it was more affordable, either Leica comes down in price or the Fuji owner's deposable income goes up. In many ways, nearly every Fuji sale is potentially a Leica sale. Fuji was called the poor-man's Leica ... and now giving it some thought, that statement has a lot of truth. I don't think Leica has any worries from Fuji, the technically specs and handling comparisons does not effect the average Leica buyer, because in the end ... the camera is still a Leica, an extremely expensive and exclusive club.
Gary
I'm sure there is a lot of truth in this. I'm just not so sure it is that clear cut. Leaving aside the brands for a moment, lets consider what it is drives these guys to make these comments. I don't think it has anything to do with the brand. I think it has everything to do with the camera - it's size, it's interface, the overall gestalt, the lenses, the response to feedback, and of course the output. These guys want what a Leica can do for them, and more (such as AF). Fuji is giving them that. In other words, Fuji is not the new Leica in terms of brand, but in terms of what it can enable a photographer to accomplish.
In that sense, I feel Fuji will hurt Leica a little. They will skim from the bottom of Leica's market. They will take some that would have saved for a Leica but now won't. They will also make it very hard for Leica to move down in any meaningful sense.
In effect, Fuji have made the narrow Leica market even narrower. And it's not just the cameras and lenses. The care they take with users and pro photographers is making a mark too.
What Fuji won't do, at least with the current lineup, is damage those who want the true RF experience via a Leica. And of course the bling camera crowd.
I sense Fuji will also help the Leica lens market as the MF developments we have seen in the 100s are further evolved and come into the XP range.
As a PS, I'd add that I feel the 100s will certainly hurt Leica. Apart from those who want the nameplate, the 100s is much closer to the RF / Leica experience than the X2.